


i never planned on someone like you

by georgiehensley



Series: greatest showman/newsies [2]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Circus, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Crushes, Flirting, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 05:22:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13241313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgiehensley/pseuds/georgiehensley
Summary: But Jack's the only one looking upward, at the trapeze artists. Yes, there was the gorgeous girl with her rich dark skin and bright, cotton candy-colored hair, but she wasn't the one who caught his attention. No, standing out between the two darker-skinned performers was a blond boy with a bright smile and the muscularity of some sort of god.Or, the one where the boys sneak into the circus, and Jack finds himself falling in love with the blond trapeze artist.





	i never planned on someone like you

**Author's Note:**

> it's after 1am and i still can't stop thinking about this movie. it was just that good, and i'm so ready to turn this "crutchie joins the circus" thing into a series, of a sort. so, here's the second installment. enjoy some jackcrutchie.
> 
> (also, i'm on mobile bc it's so late, so i'll tag "greatest showman" later/tomorrow. not sure why i can't do it on mobile, but c'est la vie.)

It's a miracle that Jack finds his way into the theater without getting caught first. He doesn't have a ticket, of course - he can hardly afford a day's worth of food, let alone a ticket to the greatest show in town - but he managed to sneak his way in, with the help of his fellow newsies. Now they're all huddled off to the side, collectively giddy at the thought of finally getting to see the show the papers have been raving about for weeks. (Well, there was that one reviewer who absolutely hated the show, but anyone else who reported on the show's financial success would praise it relentlessly.)

It isn't long before the show starts, and all the boys are each transfixed on a particular thing - so many sights are presented in front of them, it's hard for the whole group to all focus on one thing. Les can't stop staring at the bearded lady. Davey's distracted by the little man on a horse, wondering how such a height is possible for an adult. Race can't keep his gaze off the tattooed man, much to Albert's dismay.

But Jack's the only one looking upward, at the trapeze artists. Yes, there was the gorgeous girl with her rich dark skin and bright, cotton candy-colored hair, but she wasn't the one who caught his attention. No, standing out between the two darker-skinned performers was a blond boy with a bright smile and the muscularity of some sort of god. His physicality wasn't what surprised Jack, of course - one needed to be strong in order to carry their own weight for so long - but the contrast between the two. Cover up the boy's arms, and he could pass for just another newsie. But expose them, and he looks like some sort of weird fusion between a newsie and a body builder.

Strange enough, the longer Jack finds himself staring, the more he swears the other boy stares back. Sure, his gaze flits around the room as he moves, glancing over his entire audience, but every so often it will fall back down on Jack, who only finds himself blushing as a result.

Soon enough, the show comes to an end, but not before the blond finally reaches the ground. Jack can't help but notice how he seems incapable of standing on his own two legs, the one female trapeze artist appearing to have a death grip on his waist as he leans against her. Jack wants to make sure he can walk backstage okay, but Davey's pulling him away, reminding him that they have to leave before the crowds do so they don't get caught. Jack lets the thought go for now, even if his mind continues to go back to the blond boy after he returns home to the lodging house.

* * *

A couple days later, and Jack just happens to find himself selling papers right outside Barnum's theater. It's pure luck, really, but he hardly has a moment to think about the blond performer as he tries to persuade people into buying a paper from him.

"What's the headline today?" a voice asks from behind, just as Jack exchanges a paper for a nickel with a customer.

"Oh, some fire downtown, might've hurt a couple dozen of workers," Jack says with a smirk as he turns around, lying right through his teeth. He freezes when he recognizes the boy standing in front of him to be the performer he'd watched the entire time he was at the circus.

"Gosh, that sounds awful," the blond says, a concerned look on his face, one that quickly disappears as he starts to laugh. "Good thing you're lying."

"How'd you know?" Jack asks, heart hammering inside his chest. No one's been able to tell when he was lying about the headlines, how could this guy tell?

"I know all of your newsie ways," the blond says. "I tried to sell some myself for a while, but it didn't really work out."

"Why?" Jack asks. The blond just glances down, and Jack suddenly notices the crutch under his arm. "Did someone do that to you?"

"No, no. I was born with a bum leg, made the crutch myself. I tried sellin' papes but it just got too hard, livin' out on the streets. Barnum took me in, though, and gave me a part in his show. The circus has been my home ever since."

"But you ain't like the other people in the show."

"How so?"

"You ain't strange."

The blond laughs. "Well, I got a bum leg, no real family, and barely a penny to my name. I'm about as strange as strange gets." Jack smiles slightly.

"So, what's your name?"

"Crutchie."

"Crutchie?"

"It's the nickname I was given when I was a newsie. It kinda stuck so much that I forgot my real name."

"How could someone forget their own name?"

"It just happened. Maybe I took one too many falls, and just forgot it."

Jack's face falls. "Well, that's not good."

"Yeah."

"I'm Jack," Jack says, sticking his hand out. "Jack Kelly." Crutchie extends his free hand and they shake.

"Nice to meet ya, Jack. You look kinda familiar. Have we met before?"

"No," Jack says, avoiding Crutchie's gaze. The blond remains in thought for a few moments, before his face lights up with realization.

"You're the guy who was starin' at me the whole show a few nights back!"

"I wasn't starin'."

"You were! I would know, no one ever really pays attention to me during the show. They just go for the bearded lady and the colored people."

"But you're really good!"

"You think so?"

"Yeah!"

Crutchie smiles. "Thanks."

Jack smiles back, before he clears his throat. "So, uh, do you plan on buyin' a paper from me, or did you just come to chat? 'Cause I kinda have a job to do."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," Crutchie says, handing Jack a nickel.

"I thought you 'barely have a penny to your name'," Jack teases. Crutchie giggles.

"Maybe you're not the only one who's good at lyin'," he says, fingers brushing against Jack's as he hands him the money. Jack's breath catches in his throat, but before he knows it, the newspaper's snatched from his other hand, and Crutchie's hobbling away.

"See ya 'round, Jack Kelly!" he calls back. Jack smiles, shaking his head.

"See ya, Crutchie," he says, glancing down at the nickel in his hand before pocketing it, turning in the opposite direction to continue his work day.


End file.
